One to make you bigger,
One to make you smaller,
One to make you stronger,
One to make you calmer…
One to make the voices
in your head
speak
just a little softer…
One to make you better,
One to make you faster,
One to make you a more
‘attentive’ lover…
One to make the devil,
Staring back at you,
Seem just a little less
Murderous and cruel…
One to make you smarter,
One to make you wiser,
One to crush and shove up your nose,
To make you a better liar.
Look at all your little friends,
In their pretty little vials,
The most important one of all,
Is the one labeled denial…
One to give you appetite,
One to sate ‘his’ hunger…
One to make you fade away,
and see yourself no longer…
Andre Darius Labuschagne is a poet, musician, and pastor from Johannesburg, South Africa. He is currently involved with various church movements – and his theological and philosophical beliefs are reflected in his poems. A recovering drug addict, his poetry also explores themes of mental illness, substance abuse, finding God, and the process of growing towards completeness.